Promises and Pledges
by Lost.Daydream
Summary: Yuuki finds a collection of fairytales from her childhood and stays up to read it with Zero. Old promises are revisited and new decisions are made. Who saves who from the wolf? It's a bit vague, but it's my first fanfic. Please R&R! Enjoy :
1. Chapter 1: A Battered Old Book

**Promises and Pledges **Lost.Daydream

**Summary:** Yuuki finds an old fairytale book and reads 'Little Red Riding Hood' with Zero. She looks back on their promise from a long, long time ago. Zero has to decide how to protect her amongst the darkness of their lives.

**Disclaimer:** I love Vampire Knight and all of Grimm's Fairytales but I own nothing but the plot!! :)

**Note:** This is my first fanfic ever! It kind of got out of hand, so I have no idea what I've ended up with - the title and summary are pretty vague O.O Please R&R! :) Aaahh!! My story is in your hands!! Enjoy!

* * *

**Promises and Pledges**

'_Little Red Riding Hood went walking by herself, all alone in the deep, dark forest. She was visiting her Granny's cottage, with only the hood on her back to protect her from what lurked in the darkness. The bundle of goodies she was delivered hung around her arm, swinging, going swish, swish, swish._

_As luck would have it, the Big Bad Wolf had found out about Little Red Riding Hood's visit, and there he was, waiting for his chance to eat the goodies, and to eat Little Red Riding Hood._

_Little Red Riding Hood was in big trouble when she arrived at her Granny's cottage in the middle of the woods She knocked on the wooden door and took a peek inside. There, on the bed, was Granny. Or so she thought._

"_Hello Granny! Look, I've brought you some goodies!" said Little Red Riding Hood happily._

"_Oh, hello there my dear. How are you?" said the Wolf. It was the Big Bad Wolf in the bed, and he was trying his best not to be found out. _

"_Why, what big ears you have Granny!" she said._

"_All the better to hear you with, my dear," replied the impersonating Wolf._

"_What big eyes you have Granny!" she said._

"_All the better to see you with, my dear," hissed the Wolf._

"_And my! Granny! What big teeth you have!" she said._

"_All the better to _eat_ you with!" he snarled and leapt out of bed. The Wolf had eaten Granny, and now, he was going to eat Red too!_

_But luckily, a good woodsman came along, and with one great big chop, he stopped the Wolf and saved Granny. And without the Big Bad Wolf, they lived happily ever after. _

_The End!'_

Yuuki sighed as she read the last few lines of the story, and continued to stare at the colourful illustrations. The Big Book of Fairytales had been a Christmas present from long, long ago, perhaps even before she had met Zero. She no longer feared the dark, nor its secrets. Vampires and the world of the Brothers Grimm were more reality to her than the books she lugged around all day. She lived in the world's darkness, knowing more about reality than most. And restless and bored, while cleaning out her drawers, she had stumbled upon this precious memorabilia.

"'Let's read it one more time, for old time's sake!'" Zero piped in. "Isn't that what you said? And that's what we've done. Can I go back to sleep now Yuuki? II don't usually go for the whole, 'Let's read a picture book, just because I found it and thought that maybe, just _maybe_, the book fairy snuck in and changed the ending!' " Zero was sleepy, and sarcastic at that.

"Gomene, sorry!" said Yuuki, smiling sheepishly. "But it's been _ages _since we read this as a bedtime story. And it wouldn't feel right if Zero wasn't here with me."

Zero refused to comment, staring out the window with his typical steely gaze. Who could blame him? To have a girl stumble into their room at 3 a.m. on one of the few days they got to sleep, _just_ to read a fairy tale, who wouldn't be ticked off?

Yuuki continued, "Don't you remember how scared I was of the Big Bad Wolf?" Zero could sense the sudden chill Yuuki felt when she said that name, so quietly, so timidly. He gazed at her, wondering, and his eyes gazed softly, sadly. It was all too familiar, like a bad dream that wouldn't go away. There really _were_ monsters that went bump in the night, in the middle of nowhere. Yuuki's eyes reflected a snowy day, an unknown day, a terror that would nevergo away. They both knew all too well that there weren't always 'happy endings' for those entangled in the web of the Big Bad Wolf.

Yuuki straightened her back and made an attempt to unclench her hands. Exhaling, she placed her hands firmly onto her crossed legs. She wasn't going to lose her composure then and there. "But you promised you'd be here to protect me!" Yuuki flashed Zero one of her cheeky grins, but a deep kindness and understand lay beneath it. Even in complete darkness, Zero knew that he would always be able to see Yuuki's bright, pure smile. He would always make sure of that.

"And I was so happy, just with that!" Yuuki smiled, and yawned. Her eyelids had been slowly drooping, and she was already leaning against the wall. Sitting on Zero's bed, backs to the wall, they continued their nostalgia. Yuuki further leant into Zero's pillows. After causing so much trouble, it looked like she was going to take his bed away from him too!

"Don't you remember what I asked you when you said you'd protect me?" she slurred, dreamily.

Zero looked upon her tired figure. Still so fragile, yet still so feisty. Yuuki, although years older, continued being such a child. Giving her an old story, one he remembered so well, as a lullaby wouldn't be that bad. Perhaps, like he used to say, perhaps, like he used to hope, it would chase away all of her evil dreams of the darkness and of not remembering.

"'What would you do if I ever got caught by the Big Bad Wolf?'" muttered Yuuki, a fragmented line from her precious childhood memories. She was barely able to keep her eyes open.

Zero was ready to leap into action if she slumped to sleep. But he wanted to give her something sweet to think about as she slept. Something for her to be reassured that he hadn't forgotten, not about what he had said and promised her.

" 'I'd be there to protect you, idiot, so you'd never get caught by him!' " Zero whispered. He hadn't forgotten that, and he chanted his lines, as though he was in a dream. Yuuki, as a child, had been so frightened by the story. He remembered her hand taking his, trembling, and her eyes struggling to hold back her weakness, her tears. It was so like her. Back then, he could not grasp the reason _why_. Zero had felt that familiar pang, defenceless as he stood idly by as she relived her fears.

"And then you got it into your head that I'd fail miserably in protecting you, and you kept asking, 'But what if I really did get caught? What would you do?' You were so annoying back then, you know!" Yuuki's eyes no longer tried to resist sleep, and she sunk deeper into Zero's pillows.

Gazing at her once again, softly, kindly, he barely whispered, "You haven't changed from back then, you foolish girl. My foolish snow." Zero would never criticise Yuuki for being 'Yuuki'. She had overexherted herself again, and try as she might, she could do nothing but succumb to a sweet sleep. Here was his Yuuki, taking on the world, doing everything she could, everything she could, to help everyone, to make everyone else happy. And yet when the darkness came, she was the one who needed the most help, the most kindness.

As he lay her more comfortably, he tucked away a loose strand of her hair. "Don't tire yoursef out needlessly. There are those who need your smile more than most. So, don't hurt yourself Yuuki. Don't ever become sad."

Yuuki was now resting her head on Zero's shoulder. "Mmm." She gazed dreamily into his eyes, and he stared back, carefully, lovingly. "And then you said… And then Zero said-..." Yuuki trailed off into her dreams. And then, there was silence.

" 'As long as Yuuki is happy, as long as Yuuki is safe…' " He would never forget. When he had said that, and when se had smiled so brightly, how could he ever forget?

Zero exhaled a long, deep sigh. He could make out Yuuki's faint smile, and he knew that there would be no nightmares for her tonight. Resting his own head against hers, he barely whispered, murmuing the last few lines of their precious memories together.

" 'As long as Yuuki is happy, as long as Yuuki is safe, I will always, always look after you.' "

…_Even if it costs me my own happiness._ Zero would never back away from his promise, his pledge to that warm-hearted child. If it was for her sake, he would go to the ends of the earth and back again. Whatever it took of him, whatever it took from him.

_I will strive to save this fool. For she has always saved me from the Big Bad Wolf, from myself, with that smile of hers._

Zero continued gazing calmly at Yuuki's sleeping form; her eyes, her lips, her breathing, her heart's beating, her neck, her _blood._ Zero's eyes hardened.

_Before the Beast comes out, before th__e Wolf devours me, I must continue to save her. But soon, how long will it be before I must protect her from myself? How long until, to protect this innocent child, I will have to destroy myself, her protector? Before I devour her blissful smile whole._

And with another gaze, soft and lingering on Yuuki, he embraced her and lay her down to sleep.

He would deal with the Beast within him in the morning. Perhaps then, he would have the strength to pull the trigger. For her sake, he couldn't wait any longer, but he couldn't abandon her so entirely either.

Gazing at her, taking her in one last time, he closed the door and stole away under the cover of darkness.

So as not to abandon her, so as not to destroy her.

It was the force that had pulled the two together that also tore the two apart. And Zero gazed one last time at her window, at his window, and then turned his back, as though forever.

… '_As long as Yuuki is happy, as long as Yuuki is safe, I will protect you.'_

… '_As long as Zero is safe, as long as Zero is happy, he will always be there. I will always protect him.' _

And Yuuki's breathing kept rising and falling, thinking of that one phrase that kept her going, kept her smiling. And her slow deep breaths kept rising and falling, like the fragile falling snow.

… _To protect her from the Wolf._

… _To protect him from himself. _

… _I will always be there to save her._

… _I will always be there to save him. _

And so the snow fell until the morning.

* * *

**Author Note:** I am such a big fan of Yuuki.xx.Zero, as you can now probably tell.

Such a random piece. :) This is what happens when schools don't give enough homework ... Tee hee!!

I'll write again soon!! :) AAHHH!! I can't believe this is my first fanfic ... Soo nervous !! :S

I hope you enjoyed it!!

.xx. Lost.Daydream .oo.


	2. Chapter 2: The Silent Hallway

**Promises and Pledges**

**Chapter Two: And So the Snow Fell**

Lost.Daydream

**Disclaimer:** I love Vampire Knight and all of Grimm's Fairytales but I own nothing but the plot!! :)

**Note:** Well, what can I say? It's been a while, but I've finally come back and done something. I can't promise anything; I was distracted while writing this, so I'm not all that sure what it relates to; crazy stuff, and I don't know if it even makes sense .". Please R.n.R. Tell me what you like etc etc and I'll try to put it in the next instalment.

* * *

The snow fell. It was nothing less than perfect. The world outside seemed so quiet, so untouchable. And this is what made Yuuki tremble. White had another meaning. It was not just purity. It was also death.

An omen.

- '_Snow fell, and Yuuki felt herself wraped in warmth.-_

Like her first memory, she couldnot remember where she was.

White and silent, the snow was blinding. She sudenly felt her throat constrict, a silent cry threatening to bubble up from within the depths of her memories; her cold, dark and lonely past. She could feel the merciless wind again. All alone. And she was running. There were eyes, half-crazed and starving. And the teeth. The gleam of white fangs in the darkness.

And then there was blood; then there was silence; then there was Kaname-sama among the white snow.

Yuuki breathed. It wasn't then. It was now. She looked out again, and saw the snow fall from behind the window. It was like a completely different world. Shutting her out.

It took her a moment to realise that she was lying in Zero's bed, looking out of Zero's window, breathing in his familiar scent. It calmed her, to know that he had been here. His cold eyes sometimes wanted to make her cry out. Yuuki felt like she could never unlock their secrets, but their red sheen were enough to tell her that there were things he didn't want her to know. Scanning the room, she checked the time. _Too_ early in her opinion. It was the holidays, and Zero's room was empty. There were no classes to attend to, and no more Day Students were around to endanger themselves.There was no reason in the world why he shouldn't be here.

The snow continued falling slowly, softly.

_- 'Zero,' she muttered. The Big Bad Wolf was coming. The darkness, the never ending darkness. She could feel it coming. A storm was approaching. All she wanted to do was run and run and run. _

_But she couldn't._

_There she was again. Trapped in a figment of her dreams. A lady, such a sad lady, out of the corner of Yuuki's eye, warning her not to sleep. Not to leave him. -_

Slipping out from beneath his sheets, she felt guilty for taking Zero's bed from him. It was almost becoming a regular occurrence. The nightmares, the fear. It was coming back, more and more often. They were the eyes; staring at her like they wanted to eat her whole.

- _'Juuri.'It was just a feeling, but Yuuki knew that it was her name. And her beatiful brown eyes. But she felt them to be sad. It's like she remembered them being sad.-_

Her feet soon felt the cold underneath them. Curling her arms around her body, she wandered around his room. It was neat. Neater than her room, at least. Everything had its own order. Everything had its own space. The bookshelf was neat, boasting books in order of height. Zero's desk also had nothing. Even when he was there, the room had an aura of a stranger. It was like he was just a visiter, passing through, not actually living. But Zero was there. In his photos, in his smell. As much as he may not have wanted an existence, he was there. He was definitely alive in this room.

It was strange. The Bloody Rose wasn't there, although Zero _was_ the type to carry a gun around for no reason. Yuuki didn't think twice. There were pictures, of Zero, Yuuki and the Headmaster. It felt like home. But it felt empty, vacant.

She felt the floor and the sofa. Both were cold. And his wardrobe was empty.

_- Zero seemed to be quiet. Almost faltering. Yuuki saw him place his hand over his prized tattoo. He never talked about it; never really had to. Yuuki could guess, oh how she hoped that she would guess wrongly, from his eye's red sheen in the moonlight. -_

"Zero-" she whispered. But she would wait. It was too like her dream. Zero, the picture, the wardrobe, the Bloody Rose, and the retreating figure. The cold, sad eyes. What she saw last night was definitely a dream, a horrible, terrible dream.

_- 'Sayonara. Goodbye.' Perhaps this was an omen. Zero wouldn't leave her alone. The eyes were coming. The Big Bad Wolf. But that wasn't it. She didn't want him to leave her.- _

Yuuki felt herself throw frantic glances from the window to the room.

He couldn't have. He wouldn't have.

"Zero!" she yelled, hoping, wishing, willing him to appear, dazed from eating breakfast, but no sound came.

"Zero!"

She flung open the doors in her pyjamas, ready to surprise him as much as he had scared her; frightened her, by not being there, by being lost in her dream. Away from her. Forever. But the doorway remained clear. The hallway remained silent to her pleas. No footsteps, no angered reply. Nothing.

"ZERO!" She crumpled onto the floor. The picture she had given him on their first day of school together was gone.

There was no Zero. There was nothing. Just nothing.

_- The snow was falling. So beautifully. He stood by the window. Just standing and staring. It was such a long time before finally, he moved. The silver haired boy, a heroin in her dreams, against the Big Bad Wolf, closed the door, shutting the sleeping snow out of his life, allowing only the cold snow, the falling snow, to accompany him. He knew she had another hero, another to block out her dreams of the Wolf. Se would be safe. It would be enough._

_He wouldn't wait. He couldn't wait. The Wolf was coming. And the Wolf would not watch the pretty snow. The Wolf would devour it whole; shred it to pieces.No better than the nightmares of children. And then, among all of that, his snow would melt and be lost. It would never be the same. Everything would be lost. _

_And then there would be darkness. It always ended in darkness.-_

* * *

**Author's Note:** I will try, I promise, promise, promise, to finish this off ... One day OO

Hope you've enjoyed it so far. Darn homework .". It looks like I'll be off again until later.

Toodles .


	3. Chapter 3: Eyes of Determination

**Promises and Pledges**

**Chapter 3: Eyes of Determination**

**Disclaimer:** I really, _really_ wish I owned VK, but I don't. *cries* The Brother's Grimm also own the Little Red Riding Hood bit. Only own the plot, and proud of it! :)

**Note:** Wow... It's taken me a lo-o-o-ong time to update this. Sorry sorry. On holidays right now, so it's really random. And I haven't read VK in ages! Aaahh! Still love Zeki though :) Tell me if you like it!! I like praise *grins* Enjoy!!!

* * *

Sitting on Zero's cold, lifeless floor, Yuuki's head spun. Although only clad in a thin nightdress, she felt no cold.

"_Zero. Where-? Why-?" _Her mind was full of conspiracies, full of dread, about where and why Zero would have left. She bit her nails, and clenched one of her hands until her knuckles turned white. Her throat constricted as she swallowed, and her breaths were coming in shallow gasps.

-_ The hunter wasn't coming. The wolf's teeth gleamed in the light. And she could only cry. Her screams wouldn't be heard. She was all alone in the deep, dark woods...-_

The eyes still haunted her as her mind spun.

There was no way he could have left. Not without her. Not without saying goodbye.

The wind rattled Zero's bare window, and her eyes flickered upwards. Yuuki's brown hair obscured her view, but she could see the crescent moon shining, white against the darkness. The snow that was gently falling was so familiar. Hadn't she just crept into his room yesterday, to calm herself after those eyes had followed her into her dreams? Hadn't he been the one to calm her, with his gruff words? His existence was gone, along with his few possessions. How could he have left her alone?

-_ "Gomene, Yuuki." Silver eyes watched her as she slept._

_She tossed in her sleep in the dark. And he wished even if it was for that moment, he could hold her, comfort would treasure it as his forever. But... -_

The wind rattled the windows once again, and Yuuki's listless eyes snapped to attention. Realising how cold it was, Yuuki shivered, her expressive eyes firmly set on the frozen world outside.

-_ There was no place in the world for him. And for her, he served only as a character in a in their fairytale, there would be no happy ending._

_The hunter would never find the Wolf. Not within himself._

_As he watched her, his eyes fell to her neck. Clenching his fist, he looked away, but not before his eyes flashed red in the moonlight.-_

The pale moonlight danced across her neck and shadows clawed at the room. He couldn't have left that long ago.

"_Zero!"_ her mind was screaming frantically. How could she not have noticed his eyes, more distant than ever? Her eyes grew teary, and then stony once more.

A memory came to mind.

It had been early evening on one of the first days of the school holidays. The sun had already been devoured by winter's early darkness, and while trudging outside, Yuuki pulled her scarf all the tighter around her neck. Looking up into the skies, she could already make out the first few snowflakes to touch the school's spires.

Hurrying to get inside, she exhaled a smoky breath as she entered the warmth of the building. She had planned to meet Kaname-senpai, but upon arriving at Night Class's Dorm, Aido had grudgingly informed her that he had already gone out. Nevertheless, she needed something to do. Zero had sulked away when Yuuki had told him her plans for the evening, and now, other than the Principal, there was no one left in Day Class's Dorms to talk with.

Once inside the warmth of the library, Yuuki chose a desk nearby the window, hoping to catch sight of Kaname if he walked past.

The grey light of the evening quickly bacame black darkness, and there was still no sign of Kaname. Sighing over her arduous history assignment, a sudden movement on the wood's path caught her eye.

"_Kaname!"_ she muttered, and a flare of hope surged within her, making her heart miss a beat. Watching stealthily from the window, she waited until her eyes adjusted to the darkness, hoping to make out the solitary figure.

Observing carefully, Yuuki's expectant eyes crinkled as she realised it was only Zero walking rapidly under the trees. But he was holding something in his hand, and she noticed that one of his legs dragged slightly. Yuuki's eyes narrowed as she looked into the snow behind him. On his limping leg, she could see a darker trail on the snow-trodden snow.

_Blood!_

Yuuki's breaths came in short puffs, as she readied herself to run down to his rescue. She knew that if anything happened right now, she would be too late to save him, but she couldn't let a member of the Night Class do something that they would regret. No, she couldn't let the Night Class do something that _Kaname_-senpai would regret. His eyes were already tinged with melancholy, but she only wanted them to shine.

Zero walked, almost like a beaten woodcutter, alone in the woods. What was he _thinking_, walking around all bloodied on the school grounds at night?! He was perfectly capable of protecting himself, but The Night Class hated him, and with his fresh blood advertising itself, Yuuki's heart rate rose.

Standing up, Yuuki was about to turn, when she saw Zero stop.

Another dark figure had arisen out of the darkness, and Yuuki was tempted to shout out. The moon came out from behind its cloudy prison, and Kaname-senpai's face was lit eerily by the moon's pale glow.

Yuuki relaxed. Zero was safe. Kaname-senpai may have hated him, but he wold never let anything damage the Night Class's pact. After a few seconds, Zero raised his arm, silver flashing.

_The Bloody Rose!_ Yuuki choked on air, unable to say anything. What was he doing?

Kaname-senpai continued walking coolly up to Zero, and in a flurry of movement, the Bloody Rose lay discarded on the floor. Kaname's back hid what he did to Zero, but Yuuki could tell that they spoke, rather agreesively, before Kaname left him, crumpled on the snow.

* * *

Zero's eyes flashed red.

"You..." the silver haired boy spat. _Just let it all end._ Zero had taken up the mission, and it was his own fault for not taking the tablets. He refused to put them in his mouth, but the need for them was getting too great. He could feel himself, drawing nearer to the stage where he would not be able to stop it. His nighttime reflection told him he would need more than just blood tablets soon. It was better to end it soon. He couldn't risk it.

Zero held up the gun, waiting for a reaction. But the man before him, cloaked in midnight, easily knocked it down.

He shuddered as cold hands wrapped around his tattoo, the evidence of the taboo that existed within him.

"Don't think you can stop it. A monster can only hurt things, no matter how precious," said the pure blood, his thick voice eerily calm and emotionless. "You'll only destroy everything. You'll destroy any happiness she has..." The pause bit into Zero more than the cold did.

" Don't think you deserve her happiness."

-_ It was his darkness that was so starved for Yuuki's light. He had not forgotten this, and he allowed the warmth to be stripped from his self, bit by bit._

"Yuuki..." he whispered.

_If he was going to be the one to save the lost Red Riding Hood, he had few chances left forthe redemption of his abomination._

_The monster lay within himself, and it was beginning to roar..._

_The hunter would soon get lost in the woods. And then, surely, he would make Little Red Riding Hood cry...- _

_

* * *

  
_

From within the warmth of the library, Yuuki shivered. The resentment between the two men had never been so clearly shown to her until now. She decided to play it safe as she headed out, blaming coincidence on finding Zero and taking him back to the Dorm.

"What happened?" she asked, forcefully non-nonchalant as she treated his wounds. He had no choice. Zero's objections had rarely worked anyway. "Is there something wrong?"

Yuuki's brown eyes had been wide with shock when she found him. He had dragged himself across the path, and had been resting on a tree, a thin pile of snow covering.

-_ "Don't disappear!_

_Don't leave me in the darkness!" Red Riding Hood cried, as the huntsman suddenly turned away.-_

"There was another Level-E in town," was all he said, and Yuuki took in his words, wanting, _wishing_ she could believe him in his words. But a complexity beyond that lay within his eyes. His cold, grey eyes.

His eyes were dark, but she left it at that.

And now, facing the darkness on her own, she mad her way outside into the cold.

_- 'Don't come. I'll just disappear,' the Huntsman said. –_

"Zero, please don't disappear!" Yuuki muttered, a wish between herself and the icy blanket of wind.

_- A small figure in a red cloak ran after his figure, stumbling. "Please, wait for me!" she started crying. "You promised! You promised!" she shouted into the darkness._

_He couldn't leave her alone. _

_And she couldn't leave him alone either.-_

Zero's silver eyes, his sad, silver eyes, had always been calling out for salvation.

-_ The huntsman had never had such eyes that seemed so distant._

_Even though cold, never far away. "Little Red Riding Hood. Don't cry. There there. I'll be here. I promise, I will always protect you." His voice had been gruff, but his touch, gentle.-_

"_Good night Yuuki_." She didn't care if she had been hallucinating in her dreams.

_- Her sobbing stopped. "Me too," she had said._

_Running after him in the dark, she cried, "This time, just wait! This time..._

_I have to protect you!"-_

A single snowflake pushed through the storm, walking further and further into the darkness. And a fierce determination pierced her eyes, glowing in the darkness.

The winds howled, and another face stared after the snow, with sad brown eyes. But not Juuri. He was watching, and waiting. The huntsman was not the only one who could protect Little Red Riding Hood. And she would need all the protection she could get.

The hungry eyes were coming.

* * *

**Author's note:** Since I'm on holidays, I will try to finish this off. Rate and review, coz if you don't, I won't know if you like it or not!!!!

Hope you've enjoyed it until now!

Till later! Sayonara! ;P


End file.
